Part 2

The story of Philip van Artevelde, the Rienzi of Flanders, has been rendered popular, in the highest sense of the term, by the noble drama of Mr. Taylor. In the present Illumination, we see him exhibited, by a nearly contemporary artist, haranguing the people in the market-place of Ypres. The artist, although in a rude manner, has attempted to exhibit the scene at the moment when Philip, at the close of his oration, exclaimed:--“Let all those who are determined to remain true to the cause, according to the oath they took, gallantly lift up their hands to heaven as a token of their loyalty;”--an example, if one were wanting, that at public meetings then, as now, a majority was determined by a show of hands.

The commencement of the chapter, given under the Illumination, is--“Cestui meschret se passa, on le mist en oubliance et Phle’ Dartevelle se parti de Bruges et vint a Ypre ou il fut recuelli a grand joye et pietre du Bois sen vint a Commines ou le plat pays etoit assemble et la entendi a ses besoignes et fut tous.” Of which the following is Johnes’s translation:--“This affair passed off, and was soon forgotten. Philip van Artevelde departed from Bruges, and came to Ypres, where he was most joyfully received. Peter Du Bois went to Comines, where all the inhabitants of the flat country were assembled, and instantly began his preparations, and all--” which relates to the destruction of the bridges, to oppose the entry of the army of the King of France into Flanders.[4]

PLATE XIV.

THE TAKING OF OUDENARDE, BY FRANCIS ATREMEN.

Froissart tells us that Francis Atremen, Peter du Bois, Peter le Nuitre, and other captains of the Artevelde party, having returned from the siege of Ypres, “were daily and nightly imagining how they could annoy their enemies.” Among their various plans the favourite one was the taking of Oudenarde, which had successfully resisted all their former attempts. The men of Oudenarde holding the Ghent men in contempt, were grown somewhat careless; and the governor, Gilbert de Lienegen, being absent, no doubt causing the watch and general discipline to be still more lax, Francis Atremen and his followers stormed the place by surprise, with ladders, as represented in the Illumination. The operation was much facilitated by the ditches being dry, the inhabitants having emptied them of water to get the fish. The captors pillaged the town, sending out all the women and children in the meanest dress they had, who were forced to take refuge in Mons, Arras, and other places.

PLATE XV.

THE BATTLE OF ROSEBECQUE.

The Illuminator, in this attempt to convey an idea of the battle of Rosebecque, has not omitted the story of the White Dove, related by Froissart, who tells that he heard from the Lord d’Estonnenort, who witnessed it as well as many others, that when the oriflamme was displayed, a white dove hovered round, and making several circles, settled on one of the banners of the King of France; which was considered an omen of victory. The Chronicle informs that it was the general opinion among men of arms, that the defeat and death of Philip van Artevelde, at the battle of Rosebecque, was owing to his having, in over-confidence in his numbers and anxiety to engage more quickly, quitted a strong position, which he had taken up with great judgment, to fight at a disadvantage in one where the compact mass of his Flemish infantry could be assailed on all sides by the cavalry of France. The consequence was the well-known defeat and slaughter of Rosebecque, in which disastrous conflict Froissart states the loss of the Flemings to have exceeded, in the battle and pursuit, upwards of thirty thousand. When once seized with panic, they were unable to offer any resistance, and in one dense disorderly crowd were slain without mercy. Froissart describes the pursuit by the French, as making a noise “greater than if all the armourers of Bruxelles and Paris had been there working at their trade,” so constant was the clattering of maces and battle-axes on the helmets of the unfortunate Flemings, making a din that prevented any other sound being heard. Such was the last scene in the career of Philip van Artevelde, whose bold but ill-matured and irregular attempt to free Flanders from the despotic government of its feudal tyrants could scarcely have been successful under any circumstances at that period. His body was sought among the slain, and hanged upon a tree.

Froissart exhibits strongly the aristocratic prejudices of the time in his concluding remarks on this event; which, he says, was “very honourable to all Christendom as well as to the nobility and gentry; for had those lowbred peasants succeeded, there would have been unheard-of cruelties practised, to the destruction of all gentlemen, by the common people.[5] The banners of the Flemings in illumination are very interesting, as exhibiting the implements of the different trades, precisely as in the flags of trades-unions of the present day.

PLATE XVI.

DEATH OF JOSSE DE HALLEBIN.

This Illumination represents the death of Sir Josse de Hallebin, at the passage of Long-pont, one of the innumerable encounters and disasters consequent upon the revolt of Flanders.

PLATE XVII.

COMBAT BETWEEN NICHOLAS CLIFFORD AND A FRENCH KNIGHT.

This Illumination has been selected as exhibiting the mode and ceremonial of a single combat, and though coarsely and somewhat carelessly executed, it portrays, with considerable graphic effect, the arrangements, and positions of the witnesses, judges, and combatants, on such occasions.

It is intended to represent the encounter between an English esquire, named Nicholas Clifford, and a French knight, the latter of whom was slain.

PLATE XVIII.

JACOB VAN ARTEVELDE HOLDING STATE IN GHENT.

Though so frequently occurring in illuminated manuscripts of the fifteenth century, it has so happened that our selection of subjects has not fallen on one containing a portraiture of the Fool or Jester--a prominent figure in the social groups of that period.

In the present miniature the artist has attempted to exhibit the great state kept by Jacob van Artevelde, who, after assuming the supreme power in Flanders, surrounded himself with men-at-arms, numerous attendants, not omitting the Jester, it would seem, and such a train of retainers as was usual with the great Lords and Sovereigns of that time.

PLATE XIX.

VISIT OF THE QUEEN OF NAPLES TO POPE CLEMENT.

Queen Joan of Naples, the daughter of Louis of Sicily, remaining without heirs, having been four times married, determined to fulfil the last request of her father, to the effect that, should she die without offspring, she should surrender Naples, and all her other possessions, to the church. For this purpose she met Clement, Pope of Avignon, at Fondi, which interview is represented in the accompanying Illumination. Pope Clement, as is well known, made over these possessions to the Duke of Anjou, brother to the King of France.

PLATE XX.

GALEAS VISCONTI ARRESTS HIS UNCLE.

Galeas Visconti, count of Vertus, imagining that his uncle, Sir Bernabo Visconti, duke of Milan, had some intention of dispossessing him of his Lordships, proved himself the keener politician of the two, by being beforehand with his uncle and arresting him. He the more easily formed a party for this purpose, as Sir Bernabo had cruelly oppressed that part of Lombardy over which he ruled. Sir Galeas fixed upon the opportunity of his uncle’s passing from one castle to another, to waylay him, by three ambuscades, as represented in the Illumination, which it was impossible to escape. The person of Sir Bernabo being thus treacherously secured, he was thrown into prison, where he died shortly after, as it is supposed, by foul means.

The cotemporary opinion respecting events of this description may be inferred from the circumstance that Galeas Visconti, becoming thus duke of Milan, was enabled to marry his daughter to the then most powerful prince in Europe, Charles VI., king of France.

PLATE XXI.

THE FUNERAL OF JEHAN DE LYON.

Froissart enters into great detail upon the subject of the petty quarrels which he supposes led to the revolt of Ghent. The favour of Jehan de Lyon with the Earl of Flanders, and his subsequent disgrace, he makes one of the principal causes. It is well known that Jehan de Lyon was the leader of the first serious rising, and the founder of the association called White-hoods. After the taking of Bruges, he was seized with sudden illness, at the small town of Damme, “after having supped in great revelry with the ladies of the place,” whence he was carried on a litter to Ardenburg, where he died. From the swelling of his body and other symptoms, it is supposed he was poisoned by some agent of the Earl of Flanders. “His body was conveyed to Ghent, where he was much beloved by all except the party of the earl. The clergy went out to meet the body, and conducted it into the town with as much solemnity as if it had been that of the earl himself.” This is the passage illustrated by the Illuminator.

PLATE XXII.

BEHEADING OF SILVESTER BUDES.

Silvester Budes, marching against Pope Urban the Sixth, was defeated by Sir John Hawkwood, who commanded the Papal forces, and carried prisoner to Rome: he was in daily expectation of being put to death, when he effected his escape, and took shelter with the rival Pope--Clement, at Avignon; he was, however, unfavourably received, and at the instigation of the Cardinal of Amiens, whose baggage and plate he had formerly plundered to pay his soldiers, he was beheaded in the city of Mascon. The Illumination represents the headsman performing his office with a two-handed sword, in the presence of the Pope and Cardinal.

PLATE XXIII.

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY ENTERING CHARTRES.

The Duke of Burgundy having received the command of an expedition from his brother, Charles the Fifth of France, after taking several towns and castles, retired to Chartres to recruit his forces: his entrance into that town appears to be the subject of the present Illumination, which, surrounded by a rich border, forms the frontispiece to a manuscript of the Chronicles of Froissart, which are unfortunately incomplete, the first volume only being preserved in the collection of the British Museum. The background, and some unimportant features, have been slightly compressed, to accommodate the subject to the size of our work; in other respects, the Plate is an exact copy of the original, which exhibits in an interesting manner the party-coloured uniform of the Archers, and many other details of contemporary costume.

PLATE XXIV.

THE EARL OF FLANDERS SOLICITING AID OF CHARLES VI. OF FRANCE.

The Earl of Flanders, finding his own force insufficient to cope with his revolted subjects, sought the aid of the young Charles the Sixth of France, whose assistance, readily granted, led to the defeat of the Flemings, and the death of Philip Van Artevelde, at the famous battle of Rosbecque. The Illumination represents the Earl soliciting the aid of the King of France at Peronne, where the interview took place.

PLATE XXV.

THE MURDER OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

In the revolt headed by Wat Tyler, John Ball, and others, many excesses were committed; among others, the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Tower, which, according to Froissart, happened in the following manner:--“The king having agreed to a parley with the rebels in a meadow at Mile End, passed out of the Tower with his retinue, for the purpose of proceeding there; the mob, taking advantage of the open gates, rushed in, and running from chamber to chamber, at last found the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was Chancellor of England, and put him instantly to death.” They also murdered the Prior of St. John’s, and a Franciscan Friar, a doctor of physic, as represented in the Illumination.

PLATE XXVI.

EDWARD III. BEFORE RHEIMS.

The present Plate represents King Edward the Third before the city of Rheims, whence it appears his followers proceeded to pillage the country round to a considerable distance in every direction, which our chronicler naïvely terms, “seeking adventures.” After seven weeks, the siege was abandoned, without attempting any serious assault; and the scene of operations transferred to Troyes and other places in Champagne, where a similar mode of warfare was carried on. The illuminator has bestowed extraordinary pains in the enrichment of the tents and in delineating the cannon and other preparatives for a siege. This Plate is from the fine Manuscript in the Bibliothèque Royale, Paris.

PLATE XXVII.

INTERVIEW BETWEEN RICHARD II. AND THE INSURGENTS.

In the commencement of the Wat Tyler rebellion, an interview was attempted between the king and the rebels at Rotherhithe, which is thus described by Froissart:--

“On Corpus Christi day, King Richard heard mass in the Tower of London, with all his Lords, and afterwards entered his barge, attended by the Earls of Salisbury, Warwick, and Suffolk, with other knights. He rowed down the Thames towards Rotherhithe, a manor belonging to the Crown, where were upwards of ten thousand men, who had come from Blackheath to see the king and to speak to him: when they perceived his barge approach, they set up such shouts and cries as if all the devils in hell had been in their company. They had their knight, Sir John Newtoun, with them: for in case the king did not come and they found he had made a jest of them, they would, as they threatened, have cut him to pieces. When the king and his lords saw this crowd and the wildness of their manner, there was not one among them so bold and determined but felt alarmed: the king was advised by his barons not to land, but to have his barge rowed up and down the river. ‘What do you wish for?’ demanded the king; ‘I am come hither to hear what you have to say.’ Those near him cried out, ‘We wish thee to land, when we will remonstrate with thee and tell thee more at our ease what our wants are.’ The Earl of Salisbury then replied for the king, and said, ‘Gentlemen, you are not properly dressed, or in fit condition for the king to talk with you.’ Nothing more was said; for the king was advised to return to the Tower of London, from whence he had set out.”

PLATE XXVIII.

LORD CHARLES OF BLOIS OBTAINING POSSESSION OF JUGON.

Between the feasts of St. Remy and All Saints in the year 1342, a rich merchant of Jugon was taken prisoner by a follower of the Lord Charles of Blois. Being in fear of his life, he agreed to betray the town into the hands of the Lord Charles, upon being set free; and he had every opportunity of doing so, as he was so much respected that none had any suspicion of his intentions. The gate was thrown open at midnight, and Lord Charles obtained possession of the place, but the citizens having retreated to the castle, and with them the treacherous merchant, his treason was soon discovered, and he was hanged outside the battlements before the surrender of the castle.

PLATE XXIX.

BATTLE OF POICTIERS.

The present beautiful Illumination is a spirited composition full of movement and invention, representing the great victory of Poictiers gained by the Black Prince over King John of France, whose army numbered seven to one of the English. The Illumination is especially intended to exhibit the great havoc and confusion caused by the English archers among the French horsemen, which, as Froissart asserts, mainly contributed to the fortune of the day.

PLATE XXX.

ASSASSINATION OF EVAN OF WALES.

“Evan of Wales,” says Froissart, “was the son of a Prince of Wales, whom King Edward, for some reason I am ignorant of, had put to death, and seized his principality, which he had given to his son the Prince of Wales.” Evan having gone to France to lay his complaint before the French King, received the command of a body of men, and much annoyed the English on many occasions; he eventually laid siege to the town of Mortmain in Poitou; during the siege it was his custom to seat himself in the open air, to have his hair combed and plaited, attended only by one John Lamb, by whom, on one of these occasions, he was treacherously stabbed to death with a short Spanish dagger, and not the singular weapon represented by the illuminator. It appears from an entry relating to the expenses of the war, that Lamb received a hundred francs recompense for this deed, as one exceedingly agreeable to the Prince of Wales.

PLATE XXXI.

EARL OF FLANDERS AND CITIZENS OF GHENT.

This Illumination represents an interview between the citizens of Ghent and the Earl of Flanders, and is very carefully executed in every detail. It was principally selected, however, for the purpose of introducing a portion of the rich border which surrounds the page of which it forms a part.

PLATE XXXII.

THE EARL OF FLANDERS REPAIRS OUDENARDE.

This Illumination has been selected for the purpose of showing masons at work in the fifteenth century, which it does in a very graphic and interesting manner.

PLATE XXXIII.

THE EARL OF BUCKINGHAM AND THE DUKE OF BRITTANY CONCERT THE SIEGE OF NANTES.

The Earl of Buckingham (the Compte de Bouquinghé, as he is called in the Chronicles,) being appointed to the command of a force despatched to the assistance of the Duke of Brittany, their meeting is thus described by Froissart:--

“Fair brother of Brittany,” said the Earl, “it shall not be long, if you follow my advice, before you punish these rebels; for, with the forces which you have yourself, and those we have brought, with the additional reinforcements that may arrive from England every day, we shall bring your subjects into such a state of submission that they will gladly throw themselves on your mercy. With these, and such like speeches, they conversed for a long time, when each returned to his hotel. On the morrow they rode out together; it was then settled that the council,” &c. &c.

The Illumination exhibits the arms of Brittany and England correctly; and the rich housings of the leaders’ horses are executed with good effect.

PLATE XXXIV.

THE BATTLE OF MONTIEL.

Don Pedro, King of Castille, having been excommunicated by the Pope, and his bastard brother, Don Henry, having been legitimated and declared king, a fierce contention commenced between them--Pedro seeking alliances among the Moors and Jews of Spain; and Henry assistance from the free companies of France and Brittany. After many vicissitudes and battles, gained and lost, on both sides, a decisive engagement took place near Montiel, which ended in the complete rout of the army of Pedro. Froissart thus commences his description of this famous battle:--“This battle, of Spaniards against Spaniards, and two brother kings with their allies, near Montiel, was very grand and horrible. Many were the good knights on King Henry’s side; such as Sir Bertrand du Guesclin, Sir Godfrey Ricon, Sir Arnold de Simonsin, Sir Gauvain de Bailleul, Le Bègue de Villaines, Alain de St. Pot, Aliot de Calais, and the Bretons who were there. From the kingdom of Arragon were the Viscount de Rocabarti, the Viscount de Rodais, and many other good knights and squires, whom I cannot name, who performed various gallant deeds of arms, as, in truth, they had full need: they had strange people to encounter, such as Moors and Portuguese. The Jews who were there very soon turned their backs, and would not fight; but those from Granada and Bellmarine fought valiantly: they were armed with bows and lances, of which they made good use, and behaved themselves right well. Don Pedro was in the midst, and, with intrepid courage, fought valiantly with his battle-axe, that scarcely any dared to come near him.” Seeing all hope of escape vain, Pedro surrendered himself to the Bègue de Villaines, who promised not to give him up to his brother, and concealed him in his own tent; but “he had not been there an hour, when King Henry and the Viscount de Rocabarti, with their attendants, but not in great numbers, came hither. As soon as King Henry had entered the chamber where Don Pedro was, he said, ‘Where is the son of a Jewish whore, who calls himself King of Castille!’ Don Pedro, who was a bold as well as a cruel man, stepped forward, and said, ‘Why, thou art the Son of a whore, and I am the son of Alphonso.’ On saying this, he caught hold of King Henry in his arms, began to wrestle with him, and being the strongest, threw him down under him upon a ‘materat de soye,’ and placing his hand on his poniard, he would infallibly have killed him, if the Viscount de Rocabarti had not been present, who, seizing Don Pedro by the legs, turned him over, by which means, King Henry being uppermost, immediately drew a long poniard, which he wore in his sash, and plunged it into his body. His attendants entered the tent, and helped to despatch him. * * * Thus died Don Pedro, King of Castille, who had formerly reigned in great prosperity. Those who had slain him, left him three days unburied, which was a pity, for the sake of humanity; and the Spaniards made their joke upon him.”

This is one of the finest and most elaborate Illuminations of the famous MS. of the Bibliothèque Royale;--the number of single combats, the picturesque costumes of the Moors, and the general rush and confusion of the _melée_, (in the midst of which Pedro is seen wielding his formidable battle-axe,) are most capitally pourtrayed, and every part is finished with the greatest care and precision. The landscape exhibits the romantic, rocky character which distinguish nearly all the finest of the pictures in these beautiful volumes; and in the present instance it is treated with great care and finish.

PLATE XXXV.

THE CANON OF ROBESART SURPRISES THE TOWN OF JAFFRE.

This Illumination represents one of the exploits of the warlike Canon of Robesart. To convey an idea of surprise, the illuminator has exhibited an inhabitant of the town coming out of the gate, fingering his walking-stick with an air of self-satisfaction that evidently shows he has no idea even of the approach of the enemy--who already stand ranged close to the walls, with a formidable piece of artillery, which looks as likely to be detrimental to themselves as their adversaries.

PLATE XXXVI.

JOHN BALL PREACHING.